‘Knit India’ into one single fabric, says Venkaiah Naidu on Quit India movement anniversary

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu pointed out that the country paid a heavy price in the form of cultural subjugation and economic exploitation that enfeebled the once rich India.

To mark the 78th anniversary of the Quit India movement,Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday called for an intensified campaign for Knit India to enable a strong and emotionally integrated nation. The vice president also urged people to pledge to drive out poverty, illiteracy, inequality, gender discrimination, corruption and all kinds of social evil.

Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu conducts proceedings during the oath-taking ceremony of new members of the upper house, at Parliament in New Delhi. (PTI)

In a social media post, the vice president said the hard fought independence in 1947 was not just about ending the colonial rule of the preceding 200 years but also bringing down curtains on the 1000 year-long dark age during when the country was plundered at will by the invaders, traders and the colonialists taking advantage of the lack of unity among the Indians.

“Lack of sense of belonging to each other and unity of purpose and action had led to long subjugation and exploitation of India. Learning from this, all Indians need to be bound by the shared sense of Indianness while pursuing their respective cultural value and ethos. This is all about nourishing the spirit of nationalism. A perception of divided India would make us an easy target for others for fishing in troubled waters. A strong, unified and emotionally integrated India is the best defence against those casting an evil eye on us with questionable intentions,” he wrote in the post.

Naidu pointed out that the country paid a heavy price in the form of cultural subjugation and economic exploitation that enfeebled the once rich India.

The vice president also stressed on the need to ‘Knit India’ into one single fabric by ensuring equality of all and equal opportunities for all and noted that a divided and iniquitous society does not enable the fullest development of all Indians to their capacity.

Elaborating on the adverse impacts of a stream of foreign invasions resulting in the loot of the country’s wealth since the year 1000, Naidu referred to the destruction of the Somnath temple and the long period taken to rebuilt the same after independence and the gap of about 500 years taken to begin reconstruction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.Referring to the celebration of 75 years of independence in 2022, the vice president urged the people to take a pledge to